Last month, I wrote here about transitions, particularly about the loss we encounter when we face certain life transitions. This month, I want to address the positive side of transitions ... when God ADDS people to our lives.

He does so for many purposes, and I want to encourage you to see that He is always active in your life and mine, especially when it comes to relationships. He has dreams and plans for your life that are in direct connection to the relationships we allow to influence us.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:11-13 that God "gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

God is doing this among us! He is "giving" (gift--ing) us with some new leaders who will help "prepare God's people" (you and me!) "for works of service" (ministry!) "so that the body of Christ" (all of us!) "may be built up" (here we GROW!) "until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God" (folks, that means we will be ever changing, sending leaders out and welcoming new leadership in our midst until Jesus comes!) "and become mature" (becoming what? Fathers and Mothers of the faith ... sound familiar to anyone a la some recent messages?)

As your Pastor, I am very happy and excited to announce three recent transitions ONTO our Church Leadership Team. Two of them are known among us and the third is brand new to our family.

First, you may have already heard that Todd Hacker has accepted the task of serving as our TEACH Director. He will be responsible for all ministries that have to do with our purpose of TEACHing God's Word. That will include leadership and administration of our Building Bigger Hearts Growth Track, as well as any classes or small groups that facilitate spiritual growth.

Todd plays bass on our Worship Team and also speaks regularly on Sundays as part of our Teaching Team. He planted and pastored a church in Westlake Village and served as an Associate Pastor in Canoga Park before coming to NewHeart a few years ago. He and his wife, Lanette, have one son, Toby.

Next, I love when leadership happens so naturally, especially when we see someone serving in a position without any formal title before they are ever recognized with a title. That's the case really with Todd. He was serving and had a desire to serve further before we talked about him using his gifts in this spot.

It's also the case with Katie Miller, our new THANK Director, who will be leading our Worship Ministries! Katie and her husband, Josh, have been a part of our church for several years. She is an accomplished musician and songwriter who has faithfully and lovingly served with distinction as one of our Worship Leaders for a number of years now. Katie and Josh have one son, Jackson.

When I asked Katie to be our Interim Worship Coordinator while we searched for a replacement upon John Cox's departure from staff, she willingly stepped in ... and then some! She began to ask if she could do "this" and do "that" with our Worship Ministries; suggestions and ideas that I have wanted to see happen, but felt they were too much to ask. Well, apparently not!

As we continued our search for John's replacement, I began to realize our next THANK Director was right in front of us! Welcome Katie to this role, will you? And certainly, if you're a singer or instrumentalist, we are ALWAYS looking to add to our Worship Team ... let Katie know!

Finally, the new addition among us is our new Youth Pastor, David Mau (pronounced like "now"). The story of how David and I crossed paths is a God-thing, in my opinion, and too long to tell here. A native of North Dakota, David has lived in California for a year now and is pursuing his Master of Divinity degree at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena.